JACKSON, Miss. — The Congressional Black Caucus chairwoman says Mississippi’s governor is “clearly despicable” for not acknowledging work by the state’s only black congressman to get the home of a slain civil rights leader named a national monument.
Rep. Karen Bass of California told reporters Friday that Republican Gov. Phil Bryant was petty to ignore Democratic U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson.
President Donald Trump signed a bill Wednesday creating five new national monuments, including the Medgar and Myrlie Evers home in Jackson. Medgar Evers was the Mississippi NAACP leader when he was assassinated outside the home in 1963.
Bryant has praised Trump and Mississippi’s two Republican U.S. senators for the monument designation.
Thompson tweeted back: “Give adequate credit. I’ve worked on this for 16 years.”
Bryant responded that Thompson was seeking personal acclaim and was shattering what should be a time of celebration.
Emily Wagster Pettus, The Associated Press
